It is well known to provide feed dishes for cages containing small birds or animals wherein the dish is adapted to be mounted on the side of a cage. Known feed dishes have utilized a number of different designs and mechanisms for attaching the dishes to the side of a cage. For example, a known mounting structure is provided for engaging between two adjacent vertical elements of a cage lattice structure, and another known mounting structure includes members for hanging the dish from a horizontal extending element of the cage structure. Typically, there is a trade-off between securely mounting the dish or feeder to the side of the cage and providing for ease of removal of the dish, such as may be necessary for refilling or cleaning the dish.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,872 discloses one form of a mounting structure integrally formed with the feeding dish.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,510 B1, which is issued to the same assignee as the assignee of the present invention and which is incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof, discloses a feed dish for use in combination with a cage having a cage side formed as a lattice of horizontal and vertical members. The feed dish includes a bowl and mounting structure wherein the mounting structure includes a pair of elongated leg members having enlarged end portions. The mounting structure further includes a slide member having a pair of slots for engaging over the leg members wherein the slide member is retained on the leg members between the bowl and the enlarged portions to retain the bowl in engagement with the side of a cage with the leg members extending through the lattice structure.
One of the problems with the systems of the prior art is that they did not provide for secure mounting to a wall or lattice structure of the cage by a mechanism that was easily and quickly manipulated to mount and dismount the dish thereto and without the use of any rotating, threaded member.